Concerts of 2017 – What You Missed Out On
Since you obviously follow our blog because you want to achieve the Afegirls lifestyle, let me help you out: Afegirls love concerts. More specifically, Rock Concerts! And we aren’t just standing there (I made this mistake 5 years ago, and AG1 told me to start dancing or stop coming to concerts), we are dancing our asses off. So here are our reviews and stories of concerts that we’ve been to in 2017. And, if you like rap, read carefully. We will cure you. Three things you need to know.
1. Dance at concerts! It is, in my personal opinion, a waste of money to go to a concert and be too self conscious to sing along (I really mean scream along) and show off your terrible moves. You need to fully commit.
2. Speaking of fully committing, try to know a lot of the band/artist’s songs before going. When we’re at a concert, it is always the most fun when you can sing along, and you’ve actually heard the song. It’s like stranger danger – be aware of what you’re doing.
3. We have found over the years that an artist/band can have the greatest songs, that you sing along to and dance to at home/in the car. But these people, while great on the radio or off iTunes, are not always the best performers. Maybe they don’t talk to the audience, have a lousy set up, or don’t move around the stage, having fun performing. So below, I try my best to tell you how good their stage presence is. Learn it. Live it. Love it.
Alt Nation Tour 04/12/17
Every year, the Sirius XM radio station Alt Nation (best one there is) puts on an advanced placement tour of usually three bands. The tour came to Brighton City Music Hall in Boston, so, of course, we had to be there. Luckily this wasn’t the usual BCMH 18 and older event, so AG1 didn’t abandon AG2. Brighton City Music Hall wasn’t anything special, it had a bar (very fun for me), and pool tables/an arcade in the back. There were no seats, so it was first come first serve. We were not first come, but we persevered (wiggled, squirmed, shoved) until we were stage front, and I had a spiritual connection with the guy holding up the middle finger.
Coast Modern
We were farther in the back for Coast Modern, and right behind some annoying high school kids (ugh teenagers, am I right?). The band was good, and had the sound like one day they might be big, so we thoroughly documented the experience so we can one day tell everyone that we discovered them. “Comb my Hair” was our favorite song, and between songs they would talk to the audience, which is always a good trait. Oh, also the lead singer and guitarist were very cute – very important.
888
888 was not a good concert. The lead singer seemed a lil’ too into himself, never talking to the audience, standing in the exact same spot the whole time. He looked like he was making out with that microphone, which is not sanitary. At all. It’s not that their music was bad, it was alright, just everything combined was….ya know.
Although – funny story. Ever heard of the song “House on a Hill”? I hope not; it’s terrible. But it sounds like a woman is singing it. That’s what my mom and I always thought. So 888 starts their last song, and it started to sound a little familiar. Well, what do you know! It’s “House on a Hill”. As soon as the chorus started, our jaws dropped. You know what though? I actually like the song now. Actually, like is a little strong, but it amuses me and I’ll always sing along, rather than changing the station. So they were okay I guess. I wouldn’t go see them at a concert, but I wouldn’t be upset if they were openers for someone I was seeing. Also, I’m so cute they gave me a drumstick.
Missio
Our main reason for going at all (although the $15 tix sealed the deal) was Missio. When we first heard “Middle Fingers”, we thought it was pretty funny. After a while though it grew on me, and now I love that song. It’s ingenious. So it was pretty cool dancing with all these people, holding up our middle fingers. Their whole band was two people: one lead singer and one synthesizer. My mom and I slowly edged forward the whole night, so by the time Missio came on we were right next to stage. Also the lead singer and I had a moment when he grabbed my hand, but no big deal.
They talked to the audience some, but not much. Though, they were definitely the best performance of all three. The only annoying part was that since they were the last to go, it gave this one woman time to get completely smashed, which inspired her to howl (yes, you read that right) for the entire performance. In an arena, or at least a bigger venue, it would’ve been fine, however he were in such a small room she was completely ruining their concert. I mean, she didn’t ruin it, but it was messing them up. All in all, a pretty good end to the night. Oh, and I stole their drumstick. And got a picture with them. NBD (:
Boston Calling Music Festival 05/26/17 – 05/28/17 (Harvard Athletics Complex, Boston)
This was our second year going to the festival. In 2016, we only went for one day to see Elle King (who didn’t even sing “America’s Sweetheart”!! I know, right? Weird.) This year, we splurged for all three days, which was a mostly good decision. Friday wasn’t very good. Saturday night was good, not really in the day. And Sunday was the best day by far. Not complaining though about spending three beautiful days listening to some pretty cool music.
Sylvan Esso
I did not know most of her songs, except for “Die Young” and “Radio”. A piece of advice? Make sure you know a decent amount of the artist’s songs before you go to any concert. It is always the most fun when you can sing along with them. We did not get very close to the stage (we’re a tad spoiled), and we were focused on not ruining our shoes in the mud. She had an okay concert. Nothing too special. Although, it could always be the conditions: mud, it was in the day time, and we didn’t know most of her songs.
Chance the Rapper
Chance was the biggest act of Friday. I have never enjoyed rap, but he was my friend’s favorite artist. There was no avoiding him – my fault, really, for I should’ve had the better sense to choose a best friend with a better taste in music. But, I figured if I was going to see him, I was going to do it right. We shoved our way through the crowd gathering in front of his stage 2 hours before he would come on. Yes, I stood for 2 hours, sinking in mud, through off and on showers, with less than an inch of room, waiting for an artist I didn’t like. Now, as miserable as it sounds, we found ourselves laughing at the situation. I’m still in awe that we, and everyone else, were able to dance with such limited space.
Now, I want to be clear: I did not like Chance’s music. At all. To be honest, I really don’t know how you dance to rap music. Don’t get me wrong, I tried, but it wasn’t pretty. Although, I will give it to him, he gave a good concert. For someone who likes rap (there’s something wrong with you), he had very good stage presence. The stage set up was pretty cool, and he interacted with the crowd well.
Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
We had come to watch them partly because we knew a couple of songs and partly because they were performing right before Mumford and Sons. I liked him a lot. He looked like he was having a blast, which made us all relax and have fun right along with him. What I really liked was the variety of instruments our bud Nathaniel used, which gave him a very different sound that I’ve never heard. I’ve done quite a bit of research, and still cannot seem to get what genre of music he belongs to. There seems to be retro, blues rock, folk rock, indie folk, etc. Overall, very good.
Mumford and Sons
They were fantastic－definitely worth paying to see in a full concert. Mumford was my mom’s favorite out of everyone in the festival, and I agreed with her until the next day. Marcus Mumford interacted with the audience A LOT and their stage effects were pretty frickin amazing (cough cough** pyro). Not to mention, Mr. Mumford has a pretty cute British accent, which I know will convince you to go see them live. If not, go for “Little Lion Man.”
I love their music, but some of their songs I found to be on the slow side, which was why they ranked second on my list. Though, a lot of their songs started out slow and picked up the pace as they went on. What was really cool was that they brought out other artists who had played before them like Brandi Carlisle and Nathaniel Rateliff. They were great, and maybe they should be ranked number 1, but, what can I say－ I reallly really really really like Rivers Cuomo.
Mondo Cozmo
They were good (sorry I don’t have a better word). My favorite song that they played was “Shine”, which is their most popular song, and the only one that I knew. Funny fact (we don’t do “fun” facts): Cozmo is spelled with a Z because, and I quote, “that’s how my dog spells it.” Well, your dog is either really hip, or really stupid. I’m thinking the latter. They weren’t especially memorable; one of those better to listen to in the car kind of bands.
Frightened Rabbit
Let me start off with another funny fact. The lead singer, Scott Hutchison, named his band Frightened Rabbit because he was very shy and antisocial when he was little, so his mom called him her frightened rabbit. In all honesty I think it says more about his mom than it does him－parents, don’t take notes. Though, I do have to say she did something right, for this was the funniest artist I’ve ever seen. And he was Scottish! So really I have to say 10/10 band, because the lead singer was funny AND had a cute accent. Who cares about the music they make? …. Their music was good, nothing memorable (not as much as the singer himself <3), but definitely had fun dancing to their songs. (Note that Scott Hutchison also releases solo work under the name “Owl John”. Gotta be another great story on that one.)
Wolf Parade
I was not a fan of Wolf Parade — a Canadian indie rock band, eh? They were supposed to be a rock band, but we only found their music swayable. And even we got tired of swaying, which is really saying something because Afegirls dance at concerts. Always. No exceptions. #Lessonlearned. Fronted by Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner, they NEVER interacted with the audience, which was quite annoying. I’m don’t think they even looked at the audience. Not sure a major music festival is the best treatment for those with performance anxiety. Since their music sucked they might as well have been funny. They took themselves way too seriously. However, I did take home one of their drumsticks, which is always awesome. Although this was mainly because the girl who caught it also thought they sucked and just gave it to me.
Weezer
Since I need a minute to actually formulate words about this experience, we’ll start off with another funny fact. Rivers Cuomo named his band Weezer because he has asthma, and in high school kids gave him the nickname Weezer. I’m starting to think that there is no hope for me in starting a band because I don’t have any fun nicknames. Weezer was my favorite band of the entire festival. The only thing that was a tad disappointing was that they didn’t interact with the audience at all. Normally, if an artist didn’t do this, I’d give them a bad rating (see: Wolf Parade), but Weezer was an exception－partially because ther music was amazing, partially because their stage was amazing, and partially because my mom and I stood in the same spot for 5 hours so we would get front row spots.
In reality, it was bad planning on my mom’s part because now I’m spoiled, and nothing could ever compare. Weezer had this huge screen behind them and played videos or flashed their logo(?). ALSO, when they were done, the stage crew gave ME their set list that was taped to the stage. Of course, then the girl who had given me the Wolf Parade drumstick now wanted something in return. So, my mother with her dumb morals made me hand it over. I know. She went from the coolest mom to the most annoying in a matter of seconds (love you!). At this moment, your heart is breaking out of empathy. But don’t worry, even though there is a part of me that still holds the tiniest grudge, the crew also gave me lead guitarist Brian Bell’s guitar pick!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, all in all, not that bad of a weekend. (:
Honda Civic Tour 08/08/17, Bank of NH Pavilion (Gilford, NH)
James Arthur
He won the X Factor in 2012, and has been making music ever since. I mean, he’s doing better than most winners of American Idol and The Voice, opening for One Republic. He, too, was British (score!) and very cute. Which, I know you care deeply about. Besides that though, he was just okay. He talked to the audience some, and a couple of his songs were okay, possibly even good, but then he started rapping. Don’t get me wrong, British rapping is pretty frickin’ entertaining, but you know how I feel about rap, regardless of country of origin. I know that now you’re probably flowing with respect for me; I don’t see race－I only hear it. He was not the worst opener ever. The only thing that really sucked, and it really wasn’t his fault, was that the audience just sat in their seats and watched him, rather than dancing. The Afegirls were dancing though! Just a little bit more self consciously…
Fitz and the Tantrums
I thought they were even better than One Republic. For one, ALL of their songs are amazing－there were absolutely no bad songs. Or rapping, for that matter. The lead singer interacted with the crowd a decent amount, but a lot of people still just sat in their seats and watched, a complete waste of money. The singer also looked like he was having a lot of fun, which is always good. And, all of their songs were danceable, so no awkward swaying. My favorite song was “Handclap”, a classic Or at least I think it’s a classic.
One Republic
My mom and I first heard of One Republic when Counting Stars came out. After that, we always had it in the back of our minds to go see them. It didn’t come up until I found that Fitz and the Tantrums were touring. They put on a good concert. I liked a lot of their songs, but a lot were S-L-O-W. But weirdly, they weren’t like Mumford, who also had some slow stuff. Mumford & Sons did their concert in a much better way. I don’t know what it is, possibly the the lead singers. Mumford was up on stage jammin’ out and Ryan Tedder seemed a little more interested in showing off his (okay, I’ll give it to him) AMAZING voice. I just wish he put the talent into making some more dance worthy songs. Again, I’m not saying that they didn’t put on a good concert, I’m just telling you why it wasn’t a great one.
Also, Ryan Tedder, which was both very cool and uncool at the same, did something that he’s never done before — take his shirt off!!!!!…..Actually, though, he didn’t. A little disappointing because he was cute! One of the reasons that it was a good concert! No but seriously, he apparently also writes songs for many other famous artists. And, for the very first time ever, he decided to play other artists’ songs that he co-wrote. At the time, I was quite irritated because he hadn’t even sang Counting Stars or Love Runs Out yet. Why would you play covers if you have some pretty great material of your own?! Especially since his first two covers were extremely slooooooooooooooooow. One I didn’t know at all, and one was Beyonce’s “Halo”.
I mean, at the time, I was perplexed (I wasn’t angry, I’m simply explaining my thought process, because I know that when you clicked on the Concert review post, that was what you wanted to hear), but I still swayed, full of the concert exhilaration. However, at the end, RyRy (we’re on a nickname basis now) brought out Fitz and the Tantrums to sing another song that he cowrote: “Rollin’ in the Deep”! Now I was so very happy to dance along to this fast paced song that is fantastic. After the concert though, I did think it was pretty cool that we were the first people he has ever sang his other songs for.
And, a few last things, the band had amazing stage tech (is that the term?) All of their lights were so cool, and they had fog going onto the stage and out into the crowd. Not only that, but Ryan runs into the crowd at the end. He obviously didn’t know where I was, because he never came down the aisle near me (eye roll**), but he ran into the back and stuff and I still think that’s pretty cool. Also, he and the band did this amazing encore — they just pulled out their three best songs and it was amazing. Ryan, RyRy, when you read this, I want you to know that I do think you are a very good performer, I just think you need to figure out a better way to do the slow songs. And, if you’d like my number, you can hit the ‘contact us’ bar at the top.
Joanne Tour 9/02/17, Fenway Park (Boston)
Lady Gaga
I’ve wanted to see Lady Gaga since when she became big. I was about 9, and my mom thought she was too inappropriate. Finally, Lady Gaga was touring again, and I HAD to see her. My mom got great seats, and the concert was at Fenway Park in Boston (the Red Sox stadium), which is a great spot for a concert.
Gaga, before singing some song about equality, asked the audience, “who here is a part of the LGBTQ community?” So many, maybe more than 50% of the crowd raised their hands and cheered. She then asked who was not. I would like to disassociate myself from my mother for a few minutes, so I’m going to call her Lynn. When Gaga asked, Lynn gave a loud “WHOOP!” I don’t know if this an example of the effects of alcohol, or simply the answer to which parent should get custody. Upon hearing/seeing the large community of LGBTQ (besides Lynn), Gaga called it the gayest night in baseball. Pretty accurate.
For any concert, the Afegirls (she’s now my mom again) like to look cool. We make sure that it is apparent that we are true rock chicks. For Gaga, it is totally different. I don’t even think you have the same range of possibilities dressing for Coachella as you do Gaga. It’s probably the only time you’ll see her in concert; she’s the only person you can go all out for; why not dress up like a little monster? My mom and I went out to Target and bought the craziest makeup we could find. And, you have to admit, we look pretty frickin awesome.
Lady Gaga herself was probably the best performer I’ve ever seen. She put on an amazing concert, but she wasn’t the best concert I’ve ever been to, though definitely worth it. She not only has an amazing voice, but she plays piano amazingly, and she can dance!! That’s the first concert I’ve been to where the artist has actually danced, and had back up dancers. The stage was set up with all of these structures that rose and lowered.
Also, every two or three songs, she would have an outfit change into the coolest clothes. And they were made of fabric, and sparkles, not food. There was also little glimpses of music videos that came on during her outfit changes. which provided just enough time for me to go to the bathroom without washing my hands (I know, gross, but I would’ve missed Applause!!).
She regularly talked to the audience about her songs, and her life (we had some real heart to hearts — be jealous). The only songs that she didn’t perform that were a little disappointing were Marry the Night, and ———. She made Edge of Glory a lot slower than normal because she was dedicating it to a friend that had recently died. I thought it was sweet, and I understand the meaning behind it, I’m just bummed. My mom said she liked it because that meant every concert was different depending on what the artist was going through. Sighhhh** I guessssss, she’s probably right.
Overall Gaga, I heart you and it was a 10/10 night!!